800 ACCESS Get the latest on risky products
By Judy Feldman

(MONEY Magazine) – Call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at 800-638-2772 for detailed recorded information on hazardous household and recreational products, notably toys, infant gear and garments that are being recalled by manufacturers. Safety specialists take questions at the same number Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. eastern time. Two recent recalls were of Processed Plastic Co.'s $5 Thunderbat noisemaker baseball bats, whose yellow end caps can fly off and hit bystanders, and of Cosco's $12 to $15 two-rod toddler bed guardrails, which can trap tots when they shift during sleep or try to climb out of bed, thus posing a suffocation risk. If a product you own is on the CPSC's recall list, the hotline will give you information about repairs, replacements or refunds.